Apologies for the non-linear nature of this piece, but
since the original draft - a chronological report of the
match - read like a child's account of 'What We Did On Our
Holidays' (We went on our holidays. Then we went to the
beach. Then we went home.), I thought it might read better
as a series of impressions...
STEVENAGE BOROUGH 1 BARROW 2
Nationwide Conference
17 April 1999
by John Postlethwaite
SOCCERNET
The Soccernet report of this game referred to the '98-strong
Barrow fans.' That's so precise, the reporter must have
counted! Didn't he have anything better to do? It wasn't as
if it was a dull game. It would have been nice and sounded a
lot more impressive if he could have rounded that up to a
hundred! (let's say it was and that he miscounted!)
THE PENALTY
Having very successfully stifled Stevenage's creativity and
limited their chances, we were well pleased with 0-0 at
half-time and I think at that stage we would have been
satisfied with that scoreline after ninety minutes. But, of
course, just as I'm thinking if we could get a penalty we
might even snatch it, they're awarded what looked from our
end a very dubious decision. Judging by the reaction of some
of the Barrow defenders to the referee, I think they thought
so too (yes, I know they question every dodgy decision but
this seemed more vociferous than most). That's it, we
thought, another 1-0 defeat - a determined performance, but
no points for determination as we know so well. But...
THE GOALS
Despite having a spell of pressure in the first half in
which we did come very close on one occasion, all the jokes
on the terrace were about us not being able to score (in a
brothel or anywhere else come to that). After all, two goals
in our six previous games - one a penalty and one from a
defensive error - doesn't bode well. But I'd heard that the
Forest Green game wasn't just all hoofing it into corners,
there was some football on display and so it proved here for
when the equaliser came, it was 'textbook stuff.' Foster
broke clear of the defence to pass to Dawson who slotted in
from six yards. And this in response to their dodgy penalty
and limited attacking ideas. I thought a chant of 'THAT'S
HOW YOU... THAT'S HOW YOU... THAT'S HOW YOU SCORE A GOAL!'
would really rub it in, but the fans were already informing
theirs they weren't singing anymore! The second goal was
practically a carbon copy of the first. Dawson and Foster in
the right and left channels respectively, this time Dawson
gets clear to set up Foster, from a little further out this
time.
HOLDING ON
Ten minutes and another five of injury time to go -
continued Stevenage pressure and us all hoping we could hold
out. 2-2 wouldn't be too bad, but would be a disappointment
after coming so close to a memorable victory. But Stevenage
never really came close. You know what its like in those
situations, where you don't dare divert your concentration
from the pitch for one second for fear that doing so would
break your part in the collective act of will keeping the
ball out of the goal.
GREG CHALLENDER
The report the Holker Street Newsletter carried from
the Stevenage website was very fair. The 'scenes at the end'
they referred to were just brilliant. Greg Challender was
the first to come over to the ecstatic 98, sorry 100 or so.
He was just yelling 'ƒ*¢# OFF! ƒ*¢#
OFF!' over and over, not directed at us of course; we all
knew it was his way of expressing his satisfaction at having
put one over on those Stevenage fans who barracked every
time he got the ball.
HOW DID IT FEEL?
Beyond words, really. While both of our previous away
victories this season were incredible in their own way, this
was the best, in that it was much more than we could
reasonably have expected. I think most of us went there just
hoping we could come away with a point. It was certainly the
most important win of the three and makes up for all those
disheartening 1-0 defeats this season to teams who have been
really no better than us.
AND FINALLY, THE REAL REASON WHY WE WON AT
STEVENAGE
(FOOTBALL FANS SUPERSTITIONS no.37,263)
Could I dare to suggest that the three Barrow away victories
this season have a number of things in common?
- In each of these three games (and having gone behind in two of them), all Barrow's goals have come in the second half attacking the end at which our fans have been standing.
- Rain somewhere in the proceedings. At Woking the match started in the rain, at Southport it blew in our faces for most of the second half, and at Stevenage we had about five or ten minutes drizzle in the first half. Yes, I know it was an absolute deluge at Hayes, but we didn't win there because the third consideration (and this is the real clincher) didn't apply.
- This being that both myself and my friend Charlie Watling have to be there at the same match. Between us, we get to quite a lot of the away matches, but they're usually not the same ones. Woking, Southport and Stevenage are the only ones where our visits have coincided. If we'd have realised this earlier in the season we would have arranged to actually go to the same games! I suppose we should really be apologising for our lack of co-ordination which may have cost us a few points this season!
This is all absolute nonsense, of course; but if Nick Hornby can get away with suggesting that the outcome of Arsenal games depended on whether his mate bought white chocolate mice before a game and then dropped them underfoot, or whatever it was, then why not?
Originally appeared in Ralph Sheppard's
'Holker Street Newsletter' no. 350, 21 April 1999
